In the field of portable electronic devices, it is important to control device temperature on a real time basis. For that purpose, it is customary to include a thermistor or some other temperature sensor in a sensitive area of a printed circuit board (PCB). Continuous monitoring of the temperature sensor thus provides an accurate value of the PCB temperature in different points of the circuit. The downside of such approaches is the excess space (‘real estate’) used by the temperature sensor in the PCB layout. Concern for the usage and optimization of real estate in PCB circuitry for portable electronic devices is a major drive for design innovation and optimization. On the other hand, as portable electronic devices broaden their range of applicability and capabilities, there is an increased redundancy of circuitry in the PCB layout of such devices. As a result, for a standard portable electronic device there is typically a number of idle circuits in the PCB layout.
Therefore, what is desired is a method and a system for real time temperature monitoring in a portable electronic device without increasing a demand for real state in the PCB layout. What is also desired is an efficient use of circuitry already existing in a PCB layout for real time temperature monitoring.